Federation of North America
"Notre Royaume-Uni est peut-être le cœur de la civilisation occidentale, mais, si nous sommes honnêtes, nos cousins d'outre-Atlantique sont la raison pour l'Europe ne parle pas russe." (Our United Kingdom may be the heart of Western civilization but, if we're honest, our cousins across the ocean are the reason Europe isn't speaking Russian.) - Maximilien Hugh II de Plantagenet-Bourgogne, King-Emperor of the United Kingdom, following the end of the Russian Revolutionary Wars The Federation of North America F.N.A. (Fédération Nord-Américaine / Federación de Norteamerica) is a democratic Republic located in North America. Formed from colonial possessions of the United Kingdom in the year 1867, the F.N.A. comprises all of the continent for which it is named except the Dominion of Newfoundland (an integral overseas province of the U.K.), Alaska / Soviet Amerika overseas territory of the Soviet Union and Central America. The F.N.A. is - along with Spain, Australia & the Empire of India - part of the Commonwealth of Nations, and as such is not technically a fully-sovereign nation: it remains subsurvient to the U.K. on certain matters, particularly foreign policy. The F.N.A. is the only constituent state of the Commonwealth that does not recognize the reigning Monarch of the United Kingdom as its Head-of-State. Rather, North America recognizes an elected President and accords only ceremonial powers to the King in his capacity as President of the Commonwealth. North America is also the most economically prosperous and heavily populated of the Western nations, having surpassed its European predecessors. The Federation is home to more than five times as many people as the United Kingdom (not including the U.K.'s overseas territories) and has double its GDP. However, most of the country's population - especially the primarily English-speaking majority - feels very closely tied to the U.K.; the two brother nations remain stalwart allies and partners. Overview Capital: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, F.N.A. Official Languages: *English (Spoken by the majority of the population) *French (Spoken in some areas, notably Québec; primary language of business / government / aristocracy) *Spanish (Spoken in the southern parts of the country) Anthem: *National: My Country, 'Tis of Thee (Mon Pays, c'est de Toi / Mi País es de Ti) *Royal: Dieu Protége le Roi (God Save the King) Religion: Catholic Religion; no official state religion National Motto(s): -"Bonum Commune Communitatis" (Common Good / General Werlfare of the Community) -"E Pluribus Unum" (Out of Many, One) -"Confidimus in Deum" (In God We Trust) Demonym: North American Largest City: Elysium City Government: Presidential Republic with non-executive Monarchy Legislature: North American Congress *Senate *House of Representatives Population: ~700 million only; not including Territories GDP: ~$27 trillion HDI Development Index: 9.41 Currency: North American Dollar NAD ($) Political Parties The governing Political Party, with the incumbent President, is the Socialist Unity Party of North America (SUP) - a Social Democracy / Liberal party with a moderately libertine Social stance (it should be noted, however, that the American definition of 'Socialism' is considerably more moderate than its European counterpart, and its government should be viewed as being Left-Center rather than strictly Left). The SUP is in a governing coalition with the Catholic Democratic Union (CDU), which has a strong majority in the non-English speaking parts of the country (Mexico, Honduras & Québec). The primary opposition party to the SUP / CDU bloc is the right-wing / conservative Republican Party, which leads a coalition with the Libertarian Party and America First Party. Comparison to the United States of America The F.N.A. has many similarities to the real-world United States, but also many differences. The structure of the government is essentially the same, although some officials go by different titles (i.e. the President's cabinet is called the Cabinet of Ministers, and the second to the President is a Prime Minister rather than a vice President). The F.N.A. is, however, considerably more centralized than our own U.S.A., with a developed welfare state (although not as much as most other Western nations). The F.N.A. has been continuously ruled by the Socialist Unity Party of America (SUP) since the 1932 election of that party's first President, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt's tenure ushured in a 20-year period of what was essentially a mild form of constitutional dictatorship, instigated by the prolonged international crisis which would later be called the Russian Revolutionary Wars. In 1936, shortly after his re-election, the President instituted a state of Unlimited National Emergency which would be carried on by his successor, General of the Armies George Marshall, until 1955, approximately 5-6 years after the end of the Second World War (the final phase of the Russian Revolutionary Wars). This prolongued period of extensive executive power and the general tensions / paranoia of the Great Standoff with the Soviet Union (which has persisted since the end of WW2 with the Peace of Philadelphia, in 1949), has created an Executive Branch considerably stronger than that of the United States and a Legislative branch which is, through the office of Prime Minister, essentially subordinate to the Presidency. Although the Emergency Powers era has been over for more than a generation, the military-industrial complex of the F.N.A. still holds considerable power in its government, and many of the nation's detractors accuse it of being a Corporatist oligarchy. Compared to the United Kingdom, North America's economy is considerably more capitalistic and privatized. All citizens are guarenteed basic healthcare and a certain minimum standard of living, but this is not nearly as extensive as the F.N.A.'s Commonwealth allies (although the high average income generally makes up for that) and healthcare is entirely handled through government backing of private industry. Even the F.N.A.'s defense industry, the largest in the world, continues to be largely private sector. Culturally, the F.N.A. is considerably more liberal & permisive than Europe, particularly the United Kingdom - which still has Roman Catholicism as its official state religion and promotes membership in said church through tax exemptions. The vast majority of North America's population, however, is Roman Catholic, and the Holy Mother Church is constitutionally recognized as the "Majority Religious Institution". Several of the F.N.A.'s states have, in fact, constitutionally enshrined it as their state religion. Many Europeans and Soviets often look down their noses at the "decadent" and "libertine" Americans. In the F.N.A., prostitution is legal (as long as it is done through government channels and conforms to regulations), recreational drug use is de-criminalized (although distribution / selling of said narcotics is not), the smoking of Cannabis is permitted - to a certain extent, even encouraged - for both pleasure as well as medical purposes and general laws on consumption of alcohol or smokable substances in public areas are considerably more lax. Like the real-world United States, the F.N.A. maintains a powerful standing military - accounting for approximately 7-8% of the GDP. Compared to Europeans, its citizens pay lower taxes, enjoy greater social freedoms and, perhaps most "appallingly", are permitted to carry firearms under a uniform national Concealed Carry Lisence policy. The F.N.A. is also the only Commonwealth nation which does not have a continuous mandatory conscription law (the only country in Europe without one being Portugal). Category:Vancil 1418 Universe Category:Nations of the Vancil 1418 Universe Category:Commonwealth of Nations (Vancil 1418 Universe)